3 college players Pirates should have on MLB Draft radar in 2025

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates went with three high schoolers for their first three picks of the draft. The last time the Bucs started off the draft with at least three high school selections was in 2017, when they took Shane Baz, Steven Jennings, Cal Mitchell, and Conner Uselton with their first four picks. The Pirates could now take a different approach to the draft this year, focusing more on college players.

Ben Cherington has seemingly alternated between college and high school players in the first round since taking over as general manager in 2020. Whether or not that is intentional is up for debate, but if he follows the trend, he'll take a college player in 2025 with the sixth overall selection. So, who are some college prospects the Pirates should have on their radar right now?

3 college players Pirates should have on MLB Draft radar in 2025

INF Aiva Arquette

Aiva Arquette is a Hawaiian-born infielder currently playing with Oregon State. He started his college career off with the University of Washington, where he put up some decent numbers in his sophomore season. In 229 plate appearances, Arquette batted .325/.384/.574. He went yard a dozen times, with a 7.4% walk rate and a strikeout rate clocking in at 17.5%.

Arquette also hit well in the Cape Cod League last summer. It was only 117 plate appearances, but Arquette slashed .291/.357/.437. He had eight extra base hits, including three home runs, five doubles, and a triple, while drawing eight walks. However, his 23.9% K% was slightly worse than the league average rate of 23.5% last season. 

Arquette is off to a strong start to his 2025 season after transferring to Oregon State. It has only been 103 plate appearances, but the infielder is slashing .342/.451/.622. He already has five homers and six doubles, giving him an isolated slugging percentage of .280. Arquette is also carrying an 11.7% walk rate, along with a K% of 17.5%.

MLB Pipeline (No. 7) and Baseball America (No. 5) currently rank him as a top ten prospect in this year's draft class. Arquette generates plus raw power from his bat speed and 6'5", 220-pound frame. His unimpressive strikeout rate in the Cape Cod League might lead to some questions about his hit tool, but he has consistently shown a solid ability to make contact throughout college.

Arquette has seen time all over the infield, including second base, third base, and shortstop. He's only played shortstop in 2025, and has the arm to play on the left side of the infield. He is only considered an average runner, but has the potential to stick at shortstop long-term, even if his range isn't plus. Above-average power at an up-the-middle position is always an attractive profile, and the Pirates' system could use some pop.

C Luke Stevenson

Luke Stevenson is a backstop for the University of North Carolina. Stevenson's freshman year in 2024 was promising, as he batted .284/.420/.535 with 14 dingers in 269 plate appearances. His ISO peaked at just over .250 at .251. Stevenson drew his fair share of walks, with a 17.8% BB%, while striking out at a 20.5% rate.

2025 looks to be an even better year for Stevenson. He has already gone yard seven times in 111 plate appearances. The powerful backstop has drawn more walks (30) than he has struck out (22). Overall, he is slashing .284/.478/.580 at the dish. It is a small sample size, but his OPS is up by just over 100 points, while his ISO is now approaching .300.

One big positive is that Stevenson isn't just a bat-first catcher who might have to move out from behind the plate. He has the defensive chops to stick behind the plate. Baseball America praises his baseball IQ and ability to move behind the dish. They're especially bullish on his defensive ability, projecting it as a plus. His arm is also plenty strong enough to make throws from behind the plate. 

There is no question about Stevenson's power potential. He has plenty of power to his pull side. MLB Pipeline projects him as a potential 25 home run hitter. While he has shown a disciplined approach, he can sometimes struggle against breaking and off-speed stuff. Still, his hit tool projects as fringe-average to average, which, with his power, will still play.

Stevenson is ranked as Pipeline's 13th-best prospect in this year's draft class and the 14th-best by Baseball America. Much like Arquette, Stevenson would be an attractive pick, given he can provide power (something the Pirates' system could use) at a premium position.

RHP Tyler Bremner

The Pirates love selecting pitchers in the draft. Their 2020, 2022, and 2023 draft classes have had a heavy focus on pitchers. So if Tyler Bremner falls to the No. 6 slot, he could definitely be someone the Pirates consider taking. Bremner had a solid 2024 with UC Santa Barbara, working to a 2.54 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 24.1% K%-BB% through 88 innings. He worked as both a reliever and starter, starting nine of his 19 total appearances.

So far this year, Bremner has worked solely as a starter, making six starts. Early on, he has tossed 30.1 innings with a 3.26 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and K%-BB% of 20.7%. Bremner has struck out 27.3% of his opponents, with a walk rate clocking in at 6.6%. While his walk rate has stayed relatively the same from last year, when it was 6.1%, his K% has fallen slightly from 30.2%. Still, he has maintained a well above-average strikeout rate for the Big West Conference.

The right-hander has the potential for three plus-or-better pitches. He sits mid-90s with his fastball, topping out at 98. Along with above-average velocity, he throws the pitch with good movement. His changeup is his best secondary offering, sitting in the mid-80s. While both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America project it as a 65-grade pitch, some have it as a 70-grade offering. His mid-to-upper-80's gyro slider has also gotten better and gives him a quality three-pitch mix.

On top of all that, Bremner has displayed good command over his arsenal with a low-effort delivery. The right-hander delivers pitches from a three-quarters arm slot as well. He could be the second pitcher off the board in this year's draft after Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold. Bremner is a consensus top-five prospect in this year's draft, so hopefully the Pirates have a chance to take him with the sixth pick.